"I looked at a graph of the people who play and what happens to them when they hit level 55 or whatever the max level is, and how they drop off, and how few people actually go to max prestige. I know they could go to max prestige because their time play suggests they could have. I have this data. I know this for a fact."

That's Treyarch's David Vonderhaar on the decision to change Call of Duty's Prestige leveling system in the upcoming Black Ops 2.

Much more after the break.

We learned earlier this month that rather than completely wipe a your progress when you opt to begin a new prestige level you will instead retain all your weapon unlock progress. Previously, you would be back to level zero and the only mark that you'd reached level 55 before was a small insignia next to your name. Now, when you reach the level to unlock the M16, for instance, you will have all the attachments you'd unlocked before you hit the prestige bar. Speaking at the Eurogamer Expo, Vonderhaar says "this is a very simple example of how we are damned if we do and damned if we do not. Looking back at these mechanics, play 55 levels, hit a button, get a new rank icon, start over.

"I've been thinking about it non-stop, about how to get people to prestige. We kept going about it the wrong way. We kept saying, here are some more rewards if you do it. Here is this extra stuff if you decide to hit the prestige button.

"In Black Ops 2 prestige is not a start over system. When you prestige in Black Ops I will not reset your weapon leveling If you are level four on a gun you will still be level four when you cycle back around to that gun. Same with all your cosmetics, any camo you've unlocked or emblem, all the personalisation, all the fancy backgrounds you managed to achieve, all of that will still be there."